


Protection

by 7layers



Series: Untouchable [8]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Canon Divergent mostly, F/M, Fluff, Gender-neutral Reader, Kind of Canon Compliant, M/M, Other, Spoilers for Hanged Man Confidant Ranks 8 and 9, not smut this time (i know right?)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 06:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11008101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7layers/pseuds/7layers
Summary: Everything that's been going on with Iwai without your knowledge comes to a stop, until it doesn't. You never thought you'd have to face off against a yakuza member ever in your life, so you don't exactly handle it with grace. But it all works out in the end, somehow.





	Protection

**Author's Note:**

> back it again with some like actual canon stuff?? anyway this takes place probably around the end of okumura's palace and this is probably as far as i'll go as far as any p5 spoilers (even this is pretty self-contained) 
> 
> thanks again for reading this far! all of your comments have brightened my day and made this series a joy to write! i'm not done yet though, don't worry!

One day in particular, it seemed like Iwai was in a much better mood. Literally overnight, he was more talkative and more willing to share his smiles with you. You were relieved, glad that whatever bothered him had finally just left him alone.

As you went off to the burger restaurant downtown for your lunch break, you picked up a bag for both you and Iwai, bumping into the same floppy-haired kid as before. He looked at you and adjusted his glasses, flashing you a quick smile before he went inside, leaving you a bit puzzled as you returned to the shop with your food.

Taking a seat on the glass counter, you handed Iwai off his lunch, which he took with a bit of surprise. Before you could really get into eating, however, you heard him start to speak between bites.

"Those guys from before who wouldn't leave me alone? Up and apologized to me out of nowhere," Iwai said, breaking the silence. He looked up at you for a moment before taking another bite, peeking in at the contents of his burger. "...Mm. Not bad."

"Wait, so everything's okay?" You asked, still clutching onto your lunch. You were hungry, of course, but you were overjoyed. At least, you wanted to be. "That's really strange, though, that they've been giving you so much trouble and they just...stopped all of a sudden."

"Yeah. That's what I thought too." He finished his lunch pretty quickly while you wondered what on earth it could have been. You'd heard about things like this happening in the news off and on, haven't you? When you bothered to pay attention to it, that is.

"Was it the, uh...those people who steal hearts and change how people think?" That's what it was, wasn't it? "Did you put in a request to them? I heard that's how they help people."

"No, I didn't," Iwai replied once he was able, wheeling himself over to his candy stash and unwrapping a sucker. "Unless..." He stopped, thinking for a moment before he shook his head. "Unless that kid put in a request on my behalf or somethin'. What a pain in the neck."

"Kid?" You asked.

"Yeah. Curly hair, glasses. The one who was helpin' me out. But y'know, I think you helped out a lot too. When you were here at night, they never came around." He pulled on the brim of his hat, clearly trying to hide away from you. He wasn't blushing, was he? "...So, thanks."

You hopped off the counter and hurried up toward him, lifting his hat a little and shifting the sucker in his mouth. Placing your hands on his armrests, you gave him a quick kiss. Before you could pull away, however, he slid his hand against the small of your back and took the lollipop from his lips, holding you in place for another one. You sighed against his mouth, pushing back against him to deepen the kiss on instinct, but he stopped you before you could get too carried away.

"You're welcome," you said, unable to stop yourself from smiling at him. He chuckled softly, giving you another quick kiss before he popped the sucker back into his mouth, a hand sliding on top of yours.

 

The rest of your shift went by in a flash. You were working your closing duties when you heard a phone ring from Iwai's pocket. You can't think of a time when you'd ever seen him use it, aside from sending you messages every now and again.

He picked up the phone with a simple greeting, though he seemed a bit exasperated by whoever was calling. Was it the time of night or the person on the other end?

"If you're looking to...you _what_?!" His tone of voice surprised you, the keys to the store fumbling in your hands. "The hell are you...?!" You watched as his face shifted from simple exasperation to rage, his expression taking on an odd pallor. Likewise, you felt your blood run cold. Whatever had happened between him and the yakuza really wasn't done after all, it seemed.

Whoever was on the other line, it seemed they hung up on Iwai. He stood up and dropped his phone into his pocket, clenching his fist tightly. You were at his side in a moment, looking up at him from over the counter.

"What is it? What's the matter?" You asked, trying to stop your hands from shaking.

"That son of a bitch snatched up Kaoru!" He said through grit teeth, folding his arms over his chest. "Goddammit...I thought they'd just leave me alone after this mess. Shows how much I know, right?"

You still held the keys in your hand, taking in a deep breath. "Let me come with you," you said, trying to gather every ounce of courage you had.

"What? Kid, no! I'm not puttin' you in danger. I didn't want you involved in this in the first place!"    

"But if I'm with you, there'll be a witness, right? They won't do anything to you or Kaoru if I'm there." Your voice was wavering, but your determination was too strong to back down from. "Please, Mune-san. Let me help you with this. It's the one thing I can do for you."

Clearly, he didn't look too happy, but time was of the essence in a situation like this. He walked over to the other side of the counter, right up to the door before he gestured for you to come along. "...I really need to stop underestimatin' you. And how much you just don't take no for an answer. C'mon, kid. Let's get goin'."

You locked up after him, taking the keys with you and hurrying to the train station.

   

The two of you stopped at the park after a tense ride on the train. Once you made it, you had to jog to keep up with Iwai's brisk walk, but it didn't take long before you found two people underneath the bridge. Kaoru wasn't tied up or taped, the only immediate danger coming from the man standing next to him with a blade pointed in his direction. But having a weapon like this, out in public? This man really wasn't messing around.

"Let him go," Iwai said firmly, and the man started swinging his knife around.

"Hey, now, don't be like that, Mune-san," the man replied, and you felt your nose wrinkle. "All I did was give Kaoru-kun here a nice and easy ride home. Ain't that right?"

Kaoru trembled, his gaze lowered as he shuffled his feet nervously. "I'm sorry, Dad...he told me he wanted to talk to me about you..." He murmured. Iwai grit his teeth and clicked his tongue, though he didn't take another step closer. You realized you were hiding behind him, your eyes focused on the knife. What had you gotten yourself into?

"L-Let him go," you stammered, unable to make eye contact with the man in front of you. You felt Iwai step a little closer, placing an arm out to shield you.

"Dammit, kid..." He whispered. Now the man's attention was on you, his knife swinging around a little more wildly.

"Who the hell's this? Oh, you brought that shitty little part-timer with you, Mune-san? What the fuck is this kid gonna do?" The man didn't budge, but you felt your face heat with embarrassment. "The two of you sound like a couple of broken records. 'L-Let him go'," he mimicked in both your tone and your stutter, "Fuck _off_. Just once was enough."

You were at a loss for what to do. Thankfully, Iwai stepped in. "...What are you gonna make me do?"

The two of them exchanged such a quick back and forth, you weren't quite sure what was going on. You caught a couple of names, mentions of positions and modding guns...which would explain why he was always in the shop so late. You were terrified, your courage having plummeted the moment you saw there was a weapon involved – and even further when the ounce you had remaining hadn't done anything.

Eventually, the man got Kaoru involved, threatening to tell him all about what his father was really involved in. You knew Iwai was part of the yakuza and had for quite some time, but did he not tell his son? The way this man was so callously explaining to Kaoru that he was an unwanted child, both by his birth mother and now by Iwai – which you knew wasn't true – was starting to make your blood boil. Your frustration at your own helplessness was evolving into something stupid. If you weren't careful, you could make this situation a lot worse.

Before you could call the man with the knife out and tell him what he was saying wasn't true, Kaoru surprised all three of you by standing up for himself.

"Even if my mother got rid of me or if my dad's part of the yakuza, who cares? We might not be blood related, but we're still family!" He placed a hand on his neck, over the same place Iwai's tattoo was. When he moved his hand, you noticed there was a scar there in the same shape. "We're connected by the Iwai family crest! S-So no matter what...Munehisa Iwai's my dad!"

Hearing this seemed to fill Iwai with confidence. He chuckled softly, a smile clear in his tone as his arms folded over his chest.

"That's my boy."

You didn't think you'd ever been more proud of anyone before.

 

Still, however, it seemed the man – Masa, you learned – wasn't backing down. Though this display had touched your heart, it didn't exactly move Masa, who still was quite insistent on getting what he wanted from Iwai. Before he realized it, another man came up, confronting Masa...and pulling a gun out on him.

Wait, a _real_ gun? It clicked as the man aimed it, and you felt your legs buckle underneath you. You spent your entire day around fake guns, things that couldn't really hurt people, but it felt like the gravity if your situation hit you all at once. 

You immediately grabbed onto Iwai, clutching onto his coat. Even if it wasn't aimed at you, this was still a situation you weren't expecting. You hadn't prepared for this. It took Iwai's hand in your hair, petting your head carefully to calm you down, but you didn't pay attention to what was going on around you until Masa and the other man had left.

Your heart was still racing when it was just you, Iwai and Kaoru alone under the bridge, Iwai's fingers still threading through your hair.

"Are you alright, Kaoru?" He asked his son, who nodded and gave a reassuring smile.

"Yeah. At first, I was a little scared, but...I'm okay now."

With a small laugh, Iwai pulled you a bit closer to him. "I'm surprised you weren't scared shitless through all that. You really are growin' up quick, aren't ya?" He looked down at you, placing your head up against his shoulder. "How about you, kid? Are you okay?"

"...I think I'm fine," you responded, looping your arm around his back.

"You're really somethin' else. I didn't think you'd be able to talk back like that. You sure you're alright? You've been shakin' like a leaf all night."

"It's easier because I'm with you," you said. "I tried to help, at least..." Even if it didn't feel like you did much. You really didn't, at least not compared to Kaoru. Like father, like son. "But it looks like you didn't really need me here. Kaoru-kun, you're so brave."

Kaoru looked a little sheepish, a light flush coming to his cheeks – though you weren't sure if it was from the compliment or because you were clinging onto his dad. "You're the one working at my dad's shop, right? I think I've seen you before, but we've never properly met. Thanks for coming to help me, even though we don't really know each other. O-Oh, Dad's mentioned you before, though..."

It was your turn to be embarrassed now. That must have been why he didn't have any issue comforting you like this in front of Kaoru, though you weren't sure how much he said. However, it was clear that he mentioned you were more than just a regular part-timer.

"I'm proud of the both of ya," Iwai said, leaning in to kiss the top of your head. "Now, why don't we get out of here?"

"I am starting to get a little hungry," Kaoru said, just as your own stomach started to growl. "All that excitement, y'know?" Iwai sighed, but he had a smile on his face anyway.

"Nothin' I can do about that. You're gonna shoot up like a weed though, if you keep eatin' like that. What about you, kid? Dinner's the least I can do to pay you back for helping."

"But I didn't--" You tried, but he cut you off.

"You came with me. Without any hesitation, you tried to save my son. Don't call that nothin', kid; don't sell yourself short." You felt an overwhelming amount of affection from his words, your heart starting to race as he pulled you up close to him and planted a kiss on your mouth.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Kaoru avert his eyes in embarrassment. You would apologize to him later, but right now, you held Iwai's face with both of your hands, laying kiss after kiss on him.

"I love you," you breathed between kisses, relief rushing through your body. All three of you were safe. Iwai didn't have to worry about his old clan bothering him any longer. Everything was alright.

"Love you too," he responded, kissing your cheek and pulling his arms around you, squeezing you tightly. "We should really get goin', though. Kaoru's not gonna let me live this down."


End file.
